CAN A LIBERAL PUBLISH A NEWSPAPER IN TRUMP COUNTRY?
Former Wrangell Sentinel owner Larry Persily got his start in Alaska as the publisher of the Sentinel in 1976, and will be publisher once again of the 118-year-old newspaper.
Persily, of Anchorage, is buying the newspaper from owners Ron and Anne Loesch, who also publish the nearby Petersburg Pilot. The Loeschs have published the Wrangell paper for the past 17 years.
Persily has been in and out of the newspaper business for much of his career, including working as editorial page editor for the Anchorage Daily News and editor of the Juneau Empire, as well as publisher of a short-lived political weekly in Juneau. He publishes an oil-and-gas newsletter, but also is a man on a mission to save small-town newspapers in Alaska.
In April of 2019, Persily bought the Skagway News, and then essentially gave it away after searching for new owners who would be committed to living in Skagway as members of the community, which he believes is essential to community journalism.
Gretchen Wehmhoff, a Chugiak resident who in 2017 ran as a Democrat against Rep. Cathy Tilton in District 12, and Melinda Munson of Chugiak took over the Skagway News after winning over Persily and paying him $20.
[Read: Skagway News has new publishers]
Shortly after the women moved their families to Skagway, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the border to Canada was closed, so they were not able to get the newsprint edition of the newspaper produced at their Canadian printer. The Skagway News has been online only for months, and has struggled as a result.
Persily, who has also worked in politics, notably as the Federal Coordinator of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects under the Obama Administration and as Deputy Commissioner of Revenue in the Gov. Tony Knowles Administration, was named the Atwood Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Anchorage for 2019-2020. In 2009-2010, he was an aide to Republican Rep. Hawker, R-Anchorage, who was House Finance Committee co-chair.
Although Persily is considered by many to be a liberal (he is a registered nonpartisan in Alaska), Wrangell is the heartbeat of Trump Country in the 49th State. The Wrangell precinct 36-690 cast 526 votes for President Donald Trump and 171 votes for Joe Biden in the recent election. In fact, during the recent campaign season, Trump signs, stickers, and MAGA swag were everywhere to be seen in the timber-mining-fishing town that sits in the heart of the Tongass National Forest.
Persily will take over the Sentinel in early 2021 and keep the current staff of two, according to the newspaper
“My wife and I started in Alaska journalism with the Sentinel in 1976, and it just feels right to buy the paper at this time and help build on its 118-year history,” Persily said of the ownership transfer, as quoted by the Sentinel and the Petersburg Pilot.
The Sentinel claims the title of Alaska’s oldest continuously published newspaper, launched in 1902 as the Alaska Sentinel. It has had 11 owners. Past publishers include former President of Alaska Airlines Charles Willis; Lew Williams Sr., former Ketchikan Daily News, Sitka Sentinel and Petersburg Press Publishers Dorothy and Lew Williams, Jr.; and Larry Persily and the late Leslie Murray.
